I took 8mg subutex throughout my pregnancy. My daughter was born Wednesday 9/27 and began exhibiting some signs of w/d almost immediately. The most significant was high pitched screaming. Sge was admitted to the NICU Thursday night and scored 8 and 11 and started on .375mg of morphine every 3 hours. She did much better w her scores after this and significantly more comfortable. There was some debate on my nursing or feeding breastmilk in a bottle due to unknown possible long term effects.. I was discharged Friday and began pumping at home. I was able to sign a form acknowledging the risks of nursing while on Sub and began trying to nurse Sunday morning. She's struggling a bit but we're still trying and feeding her pumped milk as I've heard this is best for the weaning process. She was decreased to .29 Saturday and again to .22 on Sunday and Sunday night she scored 2s and 6s and then an 11!! This freaks me out! Doctor said it was normal and not necessarily an indication she'll need to go back up but that symptoms do often increase, causing increased scores, 4-5 days in. Last night I went and nursed a little and gave her a bottle and the nurse said her scores had been 5s 7s and possibly an 8 for that scoring interval. She mentioned her dirty diapers causing an increase as well as her not sleeping as long between feedings. My concern is that they're scoring her based on feeding every 3 hours and sleeping a certain amount between those times... well now that she's getting breastmilk isn't it normal for breastfed babies to not be as full and that be causing her to wake sooner than when on formula? I hate to think they're scoring something like thah. She's only been in there going on 5 days and I know that there is no way to know how long this will take but the uncertainty is making me crazy. The fear she's going to need to be increased and that we're taking steps backwards.. I'm grateful she's doing better on the morphine and that she's not so uncomfortable but I worry about the weaning process and the subjective nature of scoring from nurse to nurse... I'm doing everything I know to do. I just wish I knew more about how long she'll end up in the hospital. I was doing ok with the really good scores and decreases and then hearing she's scoring higher again makes me so nervous... I go see her 2-3 times a day and nurse or feed breastmilk and yesterday we were able to do skin to skin for over an hour and she slept the entire time on my chest. I just need my baby to be home and I need to feel this isn't going to take several weeks.

Hey britt. I can only imagine how tough it must be to not be able to bring ur baby home right now and constantly wondering how she's feeling. You're staying strong like u should be and that means a whole lot! Congrats on this precious new baby girl, she'll be at home in ur arms soon enough.

I think we've had these discussions before on the forum about those that are scoring these babies are sometimes reading too much into it. They may score the baby high when it's actually just normal infant behavior. When they're standing over a baby looking for problems, there's a good chance they'll find a few problems they normally wouldn't have gave a second thought. That's how I feel, I don't have any personal experience with this so I can't help ya much. I just wanted to say how strong u are and also this is just a small period of time in life. After a bit ur baby girl will be home and thriving and this will be a thing of the past. Thankfully she'll never remember anything about her first couple of weeks and you'll be moving on with pictures and holidays and milestones

Congrats again britt, hopefully Dr J, docm2 and others will be along shortly and hopefully some moms out there that's been through exactly what ur going through now.

Keep nursing your baby! Yes, you're right that breastfed babies get hungrier sooner. I'm sorry the nurses may be scoring more harshly because of that, but the benefits of breast milk outweigh higher scores. I'm not a doctor, but Dr. Junig always advocates breastfeeding for moms on buprenorphine, and I am convinced that breastmilk is alway best for babies, especially newborns.

Please keep us updated on how it's going and stay strong! I know this is a tough situation!

Hi Britanne,I'm sorry that I do not know anything about the scoring. I just wanted to say Congratulations on your new baby girl! I'm sorry you have to deal with the stress of scoring, there are plenty of other stressors, good and bad, for a new mother to deal with, without the added stress of NAS. I would encourage you to keep nursing if possible, as it promotes bonding, and breastmilk has everything your baby needs. At the same time if nursing becomes too stressful, be willing to make adjustments. That is just my advice. Hope someone with more knowledge can give you answers. Good luck, and as try to enjoy the moments you get with your new little girls. Congrats again!

Tragicom

_________________"Life would be tragic if it weren't so funny"Stephen Hawking

Thanks all for the replies! I was just having a moment... dealing w my baby not being w me is not anything I ever believed I would have to prepare for or deal with. I knew it was possible but I didn't think it would happen. At least I didn't think she'd need to be treated or in the NICU. She ended up not scoring high as I feared when I posted this and they've actually decreased her dose again to .114mg and spaced them out to every 6 hours instead of every 3. The nurse practitioner said that higher scores would be anticipated since it was a double whammy with the changes and that if she struggled w it, having 3 or more consistently high scores, then they would go back to every 3 hours. She said she just wanted to see what and how much she could handle. She said it could just take a little time for her to adjust to the changes and level out.So last night she did have a 10,12,9... but today she's had 5-7s. So I'm hoping that is just sign of her getting used to the decrease and time frame. She's nursing and taking breastmilk so I'm hoping that is really going to help when it comes to continuing to wean her. Thanks again for the responses and encouragement and support. It's difficult not to feel shame and guilt knowing my medication made this happen. The day she was born and exhibiting the most god awful scream I felt like my heart was being ripped apart! She was not ok or showing mild symptoms. I know it was best to stay on meds but I still would've done anything (now that I've experienced what it feels like to see my baby so uncomfortable ) to prevent all of this if I could

It's important to remember that babies experience some discomfort at birth anyway. Any male baby who has a circumcision, for example, is bond to be in pain part of the time at least. Any baby in your baby's position will be put on medication quite quickly, which makes them quite comfortable again.

If you were to do any weaning during pregnancy, if you are experiencing discomfort during weaning, your baby is not escaping feeling bad. You're just not able to tell, so it's easier on you. Do you see what I'm saying? Unless you go slowly enough that you don't feel withdrawal, your baby will also feel it. At least after they are born they can go through a slow, much easier detox. I think that detoxing while you're pregnant is a bad experience for the baby because they can't be medicated for it. So please just consider that as well as your other considerations.

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